Welcome to Vanderbuilt Beach!

Dear Familia & Friends,

Welcome to Vanderbuilt Beach B area/ Naples! I am now down south, at the bottom & farthest you can go in our mission. Woot, I have been in the middle, up to the farthest North & now South in our mission, yeeha! So Vanderbuilt/Naples is fancy smanchy, a lot of rich people but luckily there are areas that exist that are a little bit more humble thank heavens.

I realized I didn't really explain why a random transfer so quick & early before transfers. One of the Temple square missionaries was going back to Salt Lake & they rearranged the Odessa area because there are a lot of missionaries more then work in that area. Soooo Sister Trabatich became companions with my companion fantastic Sister Kenagy, sniffle I love her so much! And I am now serving in a trio again! ha ha! This will be my 4th trio, woot woot! My companionarors are
Sister Yardley & Sister Hanna who are both from Utah & Sister Yardley is finishing her mission & is going home in 1 week/a couple of days, she really doesn't want to go home, she loves being a missionary & it's sweet to see such dedication.  I love the mission but I can't wait to come home & apply everything I have learned on my mission. Members don't realize the many advantages they have being member missionaries.

I do have to say that I take it back that my last trio was the best trio because THIS trio is the BEST trio I have EVER been in. Sister Yardley & Hanna are a delight & their sense of humor is kind, they don't put each other down, there teasing is loving & fun & I like it a lot. I feel like I am around my very own sisters from home with them & that is a comfort. I am touched by Sister Yardley's pure spirit, I feel like from her sweetness she could get anything she wants just by saying please but she doesn't use that to her advantage - ha ha. Sister Hanna is a hoot & is super clever & she pulls the funniest faces & reactions. Oh my heart I love these two Sister & feel like I have known them for a lot longer then just 5 days.  Sister Hanna said it felt like we had been serving together for 5 years already.

Oh my new address is...

7779 Jewel Lane # 101
Naples FL 34109

I learned after visiting a certain prominent ward member (who we were trying to inspire to hasten the work) to always want to put God first & have my happiness dependent upon Him. It was a very disheartening experience from the minute she allowed us to come in her home. We started with a prayer & proceeded forward with a spirit guided message & I asked her about her conversion story which she gladly told & you know what the funniest thing about her conversion story? It was all because a stake president invited the missionaries to be at a funeral to share a thought & introduced her mom to them. If that stake president had not invited the missionaries then her mom wouldn't have had the chance to meet the missionaries, learn the gospel & be baptized. I was amazed that she didn't put the two together herself & after all 3 of us had that distinct impression not to point it out to her because this member would have gotten mad. Anywho I learned a lot in that frustrating experience. I also learned to Never allow wealth to be a distraction from doing the right thing that God would have you do. It seemed to me that some people are to caught up in their wealth & reputation among their friends rather the putting the gospel first. If I am ever rich I am not going to waste money on pointless things, use it for good, for traveling, for the things that count like giving to the church & others. Sister Yardley had a nice thought that if she was ever rich she would never let her children know. :) I also learned & was reminded of that quote from an apostle who said if you are too busy for God then you are more busy then He ever intended you to be. I hope to always out God first & my loved ones, success & work is pointless if we are neglecting the ones we love because of it. Think about it what is that reputation going to do for an individual in the life to come, God will ask us if we tried to live as Christ live, are we?

At dinner later that day Sister Hanna was reading a motivational card she carries with her with awesome quotes for her to read when it gets tough oh by the way Sister Hanna has been out 4 months but she seems like she has been out 8 months, I am so impressed with her! One thing I liked from Sister Hanna's motivation card, "Lord...thou knowest that I love thee" To which Jesus responded (and here again I acknowledge my nonscriptural elaboration) perhaps saying something like: "Then (sister bush) why are you here? Why are we back on this same shore, by these same nets having this same conversation? Wasn't it obvious then and isn't it obvious now that if I want fish, I
can get fish? What I need (sister bush) are disciples - and I need them forever. I need someone to feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me truly, truly loves me, and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do. Ours is not a feeble message. It is not a fleeting task. It is not hapless; it is not hopeless, it is not to be consigned to the ash heap of history. It is the worth of Almighty God, and it is to change the world. So, (sister bush) for the second and presumably the last time, I am asking you to leave all of this and to go teach and testify, labor and serve loyally until the day in which they will do to you exactly what they did to me." ... The crowing characteristic of love is always loyalty." - The first great
commandment by Elder Holland

Amen amen amen to that quote!!! Love it :) and I shared it in ward counsel on Sunday!

Also in her card: Alma 26:27

I love poor people I can't stand prideful rich people.  Humble rich people are the best, but prideful - grrrrrrrr!  If I am ever rich I am NOT going to own a huge enormous pointless mansion, I'm actually going to use my money for good & for God. Ok I made that point already just re-emphasizing.

Another quote I liked from her card...
"We kick when we don't want to kick & we stroke when we don't want to stroke." -Olympic swimmers & how they are successful!

FAITH NOT FEAR PEOPLE!!!!!!!!! So trust & go & do for crying out loud. The message has always been in the same from the beginning of time, God's love is real & it is needed for everyone.

Oh fun random fact in Preach My Gospel, apparently there is only one exclamation mark & it is found in, "How great is your calling!" Only explanation point or at least that is what Sister Hanna was told in the MTC, so keep your eyes open but I am pretty sure she is right.

So my companions & I had a fantastic study on word of wisdom, D&C 89! It only requires 5 main points the other things are on a individual level of what we decide :) The word of wisdom is a test of our faith & love on how loving we are towards others decisions, we can be more strict on the specific on our own but let others decide on more personal decisions like caffeine or not. Sister Yardley told the funniest story, her dad is a police officer & one of his friends was a security guard for President Dieter F. Uchtdorf & they were flying somewhere. On the flight President Uchtdorf had a diet coke & he took a permanent marker & wrote the letters e, r after diet & turned to the guard & said,"look Dieter coke." Bwah ha ha ha I love it!

It has only been a few days but we have been very blessed in our trio! I have enjoyed it immensely even though it was hard to leave Sarasota (yeeha I cried a lot) it has been really neat to feel it confirmed that Vanderbuilt beach is where I am suppose to be. Sister Hanna & Yardley have said that a lot, that they both feel I was suppose to come here even though it was a random early transfer they feel that how everything happened it was meant to happen. Aww, I am so grateful for them & it's been nice to how open we all are & I love that there is such a good trust, open communication & unity between us all. It has only improved. Sometimes in companionship's you go through "honey moon" stages that last the 1st to 3rd or so days. You can tell if it's going to be good or not if you continue to improve together in a short period of time even on grumpy days, if you handle that well & continue progressing, woot you know it's going to be good. I am happy to say this trio is really good it is more then good! 4 Nephi 1:15 I know it's the love of God that is in this trio & no contention because of that love. woooooottttt woot!

We have a lot of solid investigators & we set 2 baptism dates this week & will be setting a 3rd one with our investigator Joanna. Earlier this week we went to see her & her boyfriend, Marcos, answered the door & said she was sick & to come back later. We started walking back to the church & we got a phone call from Joanna, she told us she would love to see us & that she was just tired but she wanted us to come back! We did & had an awesome lesson 2 about the plan of salvation & she loved it. She wants her baby Leo & her boyfriend Marcos together forever & she wants her best friend to take the lessons & learn the
gospel too. We told her to pray about it & invite Marcos to pray about
it. 

We received an awesome text last night from her & woot she knows the church is true!!!! She got an answer to her prayer & Christ's example & be baptized. I love it because she didn't have anything dramatic happen, she just recognized it was an answer to her prayer :D Her text said that she had been praying how to help her boyfriend be more open to learning about the church & how she was going to do that. She was talking to her friend & somehow she found out her friend's mom is a regular at church I the Spanish ward. Her friend had nothing but good to say about the church even though her friend isn't a member. She was so cute & asked us if she & her friend can come to church this Sunday, well of course!!!

Our ward is trying out a thing called "white night," President Newsome from the Spanish ward had suggested for the Hermanas & we are going to give it a go. It is where you set all of your baptisms for one night & have a huge group baptism. It was sweet to see earlier this week from the Hermana's group of about 5 people. We have prayed & our date is June 28th feel free to pray with us that we will find those who are ready for this date & that those who have committed will be able to
stay committed to the waters of baptism!!!! Jasmine Smith, Chilene Dumas, & soon Joanna Pierre :) are our investigators with baptismal dates. Oh & I guess our will be a white morning/ day because we are holding the baptisms at 11am, it works better for our ward members & those with little ones.

So Jasmine Smith is about 18 & she is a delight, she is this awesome sassy girl & she cracks me up. She is smart & her insights are lead by the spirit, I am excited for her & just hope her mother's heart will soften about it all & she'll come to learn too.

Ok this email is very long, I'll have to write about our many other investigators next time like Victoria, Sarah, & Tiah & April & Chris & holy cow we have been blessed with a lot of people!

Oh funny quote real quick from this week. We were at a gas station & we were walking back to the car & this drunk or high guy said a crude thing to me & once I & my companions were in the car we were joking about the things we would say if we weren't missionaries back to that man. One of the cheesy things was, "God will Smite you!" And then Sister Hanna said, "And I'm His messenger!" As she then pretended to punch him, oh man we had a good laugh. Wouldn't that be a fantastic line to have in a play or movie? lol, oh my lanta, too fantastic!

Oh other hilarious quote of the week, we were walking to an apartment that one of our less actives live & there was music blasting with one of my favorite songs & I asked..."What is that place? Is that a park or something?"- Sister Bush. "We call that Babylon."- Sister Hanna. Oh man I love my companions.

So one last thought I promise...
I had to learn in that experience with that member that was frustrating to love her regardless of the choices she was making to not help us with missionary work, I had to love because maybe that's where my faith was being tested, was I going to love even through the frustration, I think that's what I'm learning right now. Things will be unjust, people will not really understand but God does & God's love
will see us through at the end of the day. That what matters, we don't have to prove the feelings or confirmations from God that we get to other, we just have to be willing to share & then let others decide how they will choose.

It all comes down to which heaven are you willing to live? What will see you through your day? The love of God or the dependency on your own strengthen? I'd rather choose God's love & see the true joy that unfolds from that choice & decision.

I am grateful for God, for hymns like, "Be still my soul," I loved that hymn it really helped this week with all the fast transitions that have happened, I love my companions & I love the amazing ways God works. I love this gospel, I love our savior Jesus Christ, I love that His work is Hastening. I have a deep appreciation for everything going on right now, yeeha!

Much Love,

Sister Bush